No celebration despite win streak as S’pore’s Peter Gilchrist eyes World Billiards C’ship redemption
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Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist (right) receiving the New Zealand Open trophies from organiser Wayne Carey. He gets to keep the one in his left hand, with his name engraved on the main trophy.
PHOTO: CUESPORTS SINGAPORE
- Peter Gilchrist seeks redemption at the World Billiards Championship after a semi-final loss last year, driving him to fine-tune his gameplay.
- Despite recent wins at the Sydney, Auckland and New Zealand Opens, he is critical of his performance, focusing on precision.
- Following the World Championship, Gilchrist aims for SEA Games gold, seeking to reclaim his title after settling for silver in the last two editions.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore’s billiards ace Peter Gilchrist has just completed a hat-trick of titles in eight days, with his New Zealand Open victory on Sept 14 coming off the back of triumphs at the Auckland Open and Sydney Open. But he is in no mood for celebrations.
The focus has immediately shifted to the Oct 13-16 World Billiards Championship in England. As the 57-year-old would tell you, he has not quite shaken off the disappointment of the 2024 edition.
Then, the five-time world champion had lost to England’s Robert Hall in the semi-finals at the Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall.
It is a defeat that still stings.
“I’ve won the world championship a few times, so I didn’t think last year’s loss would mean much, but it did,” Gilchrist told The Straits Times.
“I think about it a lot and I am glad that now we are only about a month away from it. When you lose, you’ve got to wait a full year without being world champion.
“Billiards isn’t in the Olympics and I really dread to think what it would be like if you didn’t win the gold medal, and then you’ve got to wait four years for the next chance. That must be an absolute nightmare.
“I’ve spoken to players who’ve played in the past, and they’ve said that when you get older, you get used to losing, and that it’ll be fine. And I thought ‘oh, that’s good’. But no, it still hurts to lose.”
As he counts down to his return to the Landywood Snooker Club, which remains the venue for the world championship, Gilchrist – the world No. 1 – is more critical than before and was more keen to discuss the need to fine-tune his game rather than reflect on his string of victories in World Billiards events.
On Sept 7, Gilchrist defeated Michael Pearson of Australia 748-400 to retain the Sydney Open title at Club Marconi, where he had won last season’s title just seven months ago.
He followed it up with victories in a double-header at the Papatoetoe Cosmopolitan Club in New Zealand.
On Sept 11, he prevailed 671-234 over India’s Dhruv Sitwala in the Auckland Open final and got the better of his opponent again three days later with a 824-289 win in the New Zealand Open final.
Gilchrist, who has racked up six titles in 2025, including the European Open and the World Billiards Club 200 Open, said: “I should be feeling pleased and confident about these wins, but I’m not.
“I feel I’m not playing that great, to be honest. I’m missing a few easy pots here and there... I’m not playing anywhere near my best. So what I’m pleased about is that I have a month to rectify a few things.”
Asked what he needs to improve on, Gilchrist said: “I’m not hitting the middle of the cue ball. That’s everything in the game.”
He will first return to Singapore where he will spend the next few weeks polishing his game before he heads to England, where he will compete in the Oct 11-12 English Open before the world championship showdown.
Gilchrist’s latest achievements mean that it continues to be a banner year for cue sports in Singapore.
Aloysius Yapp has bagged several titles in 2025, winning the Formosa Cup Taipei Pool Open, the US Open and Florida Open in August alone, following his triumph in the UK Open in May as he became the first player to clinch three consecutive Matchroom major titles.
Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah said Gilchrist’s hat-trick is “proving once again that he remains a force to be reckoned with on the international billiards stage and that age is just a number”.
He added: “This magnificent feat following Aloysius Yapp’s back-to-back wins firmly entrenches Singapore on the international cue sports stage. We continue to wish Peter every success in his upcoming tournaments in the English Open and world championship in the UK.”
After the world championship, Gilchrist’s attention will shift to the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand, where he has a burning desire to return to the top of the English billiards podium.
He settled for silver in the last two editions, losing both times to Myanmar’s Pauk Sa, who ended the Singaporean’s six-gold winning streak in the event at the Hanoi Games in 2022.
“I am massively looking forward to that because I’ve lost the last two,” said Gilchrist.
“But first I’ll focus on the world championship.”
